CharliVangundy: adding a data v1.

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adding a data v1.

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{{short description|British-Tanzanian man convicted for a 2005 London bombing attempt}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=May 2017}}
{{tone|date=November 2023}}}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Mohammed Hamid
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1957}}
| birth_place = [[Tanzania]]
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| known_for = Training the perpetrators of the [[21 July 2005 London bombings|attempted bombings in London on 21 July 2005]]
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| criminal_charge = Three counts of training terrorists, three counts of soliciting murder, two counts of drug abuse
| conviction_penalty = Prison indefinitely (11.5 years minimum)
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'''Mohammed Hamid''' (born 1957 in [[Tanzania]]) is a British citizen and [[Islamist extremist]] convicted of training the perpetrators of the [[21 July 2005 London bombings|attempted bombings in London on 21 July 2005]].<ref name=":4" /> He became radicalised and was a follower of the Jamaican extremist cleric [[Abdullah el-Faisal]]. He called himself "Osama Bin London" to an officer who was arresting him, and the nickname became popular in the press during his trial.<ref name=":0" />

There has been some questioning of the validity of his conviction. His training of those involved in the attacks was reported to consist of taking young men on camping trips and to paintball games at recreation centres and conducting late-night conversations with them in the living room of his home.

== Early life ==
Born in 1957 to an Indian Muslim family then residing in Tanzania, Hamid – known as "Babou" to his family of four brothers and seven sisters – immigrated to the United Kingdom at age 5.<ref name=Members787469>{{cite web |title=Profiles: The terror gang members |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/profiles-the-terror-gang-members-787469.html |date=26 February 2008 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> His parents and relatives were engaged in the clothing trade in [[Batley]], West Yorkshire. In 1960, Hamid was sent to live with his elder brother in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], London.<ref name=":2" /> Hamid gained a reputation for petty criminality, serving multiple sentences in juvenile detention (borstal);<ref name=Members787469/> he dropped out of school to work at a garage, but his criminal career continued, and he entered the adult prison system for robbery.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" />

His first marriage, apparently unregistered, was to an Afro-Caribbean woman named Linda with whom he had a son and a daughter.<ref name=":2" />

After separating from his common-law wife around 1990 and becoming the caretaker of his two children, Hamid became addicted to [[crack cocaine]], which he blamed for his criminal behaviour; when asked about his addiction history at trial, he told the court that his addiction compelled him to abandon his children and sell everything to sustain his habit.<ref name=":2" />

He later said that at some point during this period, he was saved from continuing his life as a drug user and ordinary criminal when he happened visit a mosque with his brother.<ref name=":2" /> To fix his addiction, he moved to India where he met and married his second wife, a committed Muslim.<ref name=Members787469/><ref name=":2" /> The couple settled in Hamid's [[council flat]] in [[Clapton, London|Clapton]], London. As the couple had four children, Hamid began coaching youth sports. Hamid became ever more radical in his religious beliefs, adopting Muslim garb, preaching at [[Speakers' Corner]] in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], and – in 1996 – opening an Islamist bookshop which became the foundation of his radicalised activities.

== Life after radicalisation ==
The death of Muhammad Hamid's father and his new life with his second wife was a big factor in his new dedication to the Islam religion. He also was known to sometimes take drugs during this time. He opened an Islamic bookshop called al-Koran in the Clapton area of east London, and started attending rallies at Speakers' Corner after the [[9/11 attacks]] in 2001. He devoted his life to living by his religion of Islam and wore traditional gowns. It was during this time when he began to become increasingly radical and vocal. After attending many rallies and reaching out to Muslim individuals, Hamid became a disciple of the radical preacher [[Abdullah el-Faisal]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/mohamed-hamid-from-petty-criminal-to-tutor-of-terrorists-8638594.html|title=Mohamed Hamid: From petty criminal to tutor of terrorists|date=30 May 2013|work=The Independent|access-date=2017-04-06|language=en-GB}}</ref> He eventually started to rise the ranks and assemble his own terrorist cell.

== 21 July 2005 London bombing attempt ==
{{main|21 July 2005 London attempted bombings}}
On Thursday 21 July 2005, four men attempted to bomb parts of London's transportation system, but were unsuccessful. The attempted bombings occurred around midday at the [[Shepherd's Bush tube station|Shepherd's Bush]], [[Warren Street tube station|Warren Street]] and [[Oval tube station|Oval]] stations in the [[London Underground]] rapid transit system. There was also an attempt to explode a bomb on a bus in [[Bethnal Green]]. The bombs failed to explode, and no one was injured (other than one person having an [[asthma attack]]). The attempted bombers fled the scenes after their devices failed to explode, and the police operated a manhunt to find them, and shot and killed one innocent man after misidentifying him as a suspected bomber. The four attackers, [[Muktar Ibrahim]], 27, [[Yassin Omar]], 22, [[Ramzi Mohammed]], 24, and [[Hussain Osman]], 26, were arrested about a week after the bombing attempt and were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |date=2008-02-26 |title=Profiles: Mohammed Hamid and his followers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/feb/26/uksecurity.july7 |access-date=2017-04-06 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> They were each sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 40 years' imprisonment.<ref name=":2" />

Mohammed Hamid and another man named Mousa Brown were arrested for their relationship with the attempted bombers. Mousa Brown was later found not guilty of all charges. However, police said that Mohammed Hamid played a crucial role in training/preparing the young men who were involved in the bombing attempt.<ref name=":4" />

Hamid was found not guilty of providing weapons training at camps.<ref name=":0"/> No evidence was presented of him possessing or handling weapons or providing any weapon-specific training or operation-specific training. As described by the [[BBC]], his "training" of those involved in the attacks was reported to consist of taking young men on camping trips around the UK and conducting late-night conversations with them in the living room of his home.<ref name=":0"/>

== Sentencing ==
After a five-month trial at the Wollwich crown court, Mohammad Hamid was found guilty of training terrorists in secret camps, abusing drugs, and conspiring.<ref name=":3" /> This case trial was the first to deal with a new offence under the Terrorism Act of 2006: attending a place for terrorist training. He was arrested, along with fourteen other men after the 2005 London bombings and for providing terrorist training. Hamid was recorded telling his terrorist recruits that he had wanted to see many atrocities before the 2012 Olympics and hailed the September 11 hijackers.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Mirror.co.uk |date=2008-02-26 |title=Islamist preacher Mohammed Hamid found guilty of organising terrorist training camps |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/islamist-preacher-mohammed-hamid-found-295331 |access-date=6 April 2017 |work=[[Daily Mirror]]}}</ref> The court ruled that there was evidence that Mohammed Hamid had a relationship with the four attempted bombers and did in fact train them. On 26 February 2008 Hamid was found guilty on three counts of providing terrorist training and three counts of soliciting murder.<ref name=":0" /> The court also ruled that he was guilty of providing terrorist training to the individuals responsible for the London bombing attempt at a remote location in the New Forest in April 2006 and at a Berkshire paint balling centre in June 2006. However, the jury at [[Woolwich Crown Court]] found him not guilty of providing weapons training. Hamid was said to have been training the attempted bombers through camping trips around the UK and paintball games at recreation centres and to have been encouraging others to murder non-believers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/feb/26/uksecurity|title=Preacher guilty of organising terror training camps|last=Bowcott|first=Owen|date=2008-02-26|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-04-06|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Mohammed Hamid was sentenced indefinitely with a minimum of seven and a half years for the protection of the public.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1579915/Mohammed-Hamid-is-evil-personified.html |title=Mohammed Hamid 'is evil personified' |last=Gardham|first=Duncan|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=6 April 2017 |language=en |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Controversy ==
There has been controversy over the imprisonment of Mohammed Hamid. Some claim that Mohammed Hamid is one of the many victims of Britain's war on terror who has been sent to prison mainly for their Islamic religion. There has been debate that there has not been sufficient evidence to prove that camping and practicing paintball was enough to convict Hamid of training terrorists. Furthermore, the counts of drug abuse had little to no evidence. When asked about his act of reaching out to many young Muslims, Hamid claimed that he was trying to offer support to Muslims because they were vulnerable after the 9/11 attack.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7256859.stm|title=Top terror recruiter found guilty|website=BBC News|date=26 February 2008 |access-date=2017-04-06}}</ref> Along with other supporters, Mohammed's daughter Yasmin has launched a campaign to demand freedom for her father. She and the supporters claim that Mohammed Hamid had no relations with the London 21/7 attack and claimed Mohammed had been wrongly imprisoned. Mousa Brown had been accused and charged under the 2006 terrorism act for providing terrorist training and receiving terrorist training. The reason for these charges was for his involvement in the sport of paint balling at the locations where Mohammed trained. Later his charges were dropped but there have been claims that Mohammed Hamid was wrongly accused and imprisoned for his Muslim background and has become a victim of prejudice against Muslims.

==External links==
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7210000/newsid_7213500/7213525.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1 Don't Panic, I'm Islamic] – Mohammed Hamid paintballing on the BBC
* [http://freehamid.blogspot.com Free Mohammed Hassan Hamid Campaign] website

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamid, Mohammed}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Tanzanian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people convicted of robbery]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales]]
[[Category:Tanzanian people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:British people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of the July 2005 London bombings]]
[[Category:British prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:British Islamists]]
[[Category:People convicted on terrorism charges]]
[[Category:People convicted of attempted murder]]
[[Category:British people convicted of drug offences]]
[[Category:Indian Islamists]]

Mohammed Hamid (preacher) - Revision history

CharliVangundy: adding a data v1.